The Respecting Children and Young People Project was a time limited project that produced Fair and Equal Education: An Evidence-based Policy Manifesto that Respects Children and Young People, released on the 10 March 2015. The posts in this blog contributed towards the development of the manifesto, but they also act as important statements on recent issues affecting children and young people, informed by research undertaken by researchers from the British Educational Research Association. While we are no longer posting to this blog, the posts will be held on this site as an archive. Enjoy reading and sharing them with your colleagues, friends, family and students. We thank everyone who has contributed to the project.

post by RUTH BOYASKOn behalf of the editors of the Respecting Children and Young People project

On the 10th March 2015, the Respecting Children and Young People project will be holding an event to launch the culmination of our work, the Fair and Equal Education manifesto. This manifesto has been shaped by the dialogue and engagement of members of six special interest groups (SIGs) within BERA, representing many hundreds of British educational researchers. We have come together because we, like many other voices at the present time, are concerned. Continue reading Fair and Equal Education→

This morning I visited a school to deliver training. There was a young man, a young woman and a teacher outside. I heard the young man remark: ‘you’re not a woman, you’re a silly little girl.’ She laughed it off and the teacher said nothing. The young man and woman had a play fight and he wrestled her to the ground. He stood over her and she asked if he’d help her up. He looked down, laughed and said ‘no’. The teacher did nothing. Continue reading Anti-violence work with young people→

For over three decades researchers, activists and practitioners have argued that pleasure should be included in the delivery of sex education and sexual health services. As 23 year old volunteer and peer educator Victoria Telford states: ‘My sex education at school was just about preventing STIs and preventing pregnancy and that was it. You are taught about puberty, the biological side of sex and the rest you are left to figure out on your own and I think you make bad choices because of that.’ Continue reading The ‘good sex’ project: political problems and practical solutions→

“Here’s the thing: Being gay is not an issue, it is an identity. It is not something that you can agree or disagree with. It is a fact, and must be defended and represented as a fact.” – David Levithan.

I love this quote. It encompasses what I have been saying to teachers and students for over a decade. LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans & queer/questioning) young people and families pop up everywhere and, whether we think that’s OK or whether we think they’re going straight to Hell, they have the same rights as everyone else to an education that addresses their needs and endorses their identity. Continue reading Will statutory PSHE make schools more LGBTQ-friendly?→

post by NANCY LOMBARDReader in Sociology and Social Policy, Glasgow Caledonian University

Men’s violence against women is an endemic social problem within all societies and cultures. Feminist research and activism has maintained that to challenge and prevent men’s violence against women, changing attitudes and behaviour are key. My current and ongoing research examines what young people think about men’s violence against women with a view to generating theoretical insights and informing prevention work in this area. Continue reading Gender Inequality and Violence: The role of schools→